Plea negotiations set for Amarillo men charged in Lubbock doctor's death

avid Neal Shepard, center, talks to Lubbock and Amarillo police while they search for evidence in the killing of Dr. Joseph Sonnier III near Lawrence Lake, Wednesday, October 3, 2012. Shepard and Amarillo plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Michael Dixon have been indicted on two counts each of capital murder.

LUBBOCK — Attorneys for the two men charged with capital murder in the death of Lubbock pathologist Dr. Joseph Sonnier III in July are set to talk with prosecutors in January.

Plea negotiation conferences are scheduled for Thursday in the case against Amarillo physician Thomas Michael Dixon and Jan. 24 for businessman David Neal Shepard, according to orders entered in 140th District Judge Jim Bob Darnell’s court.

Jack Stoffregen, a regional public defender for capital cases who is representing Shepard, said he expects prosecutors with the Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and his team of attorneys to discuss the possibility of prosecutors pursuing the death penalty as well as upcoming trial dates and when evidence could be presented.

Attorneys for Shepard and Dixon met with prosecutors Oct. 25 for the first plea negotiation meeting.

Stoffregen said he couldn’t confirm any negotiations with the district attorney’s office or police.

Dixon, the former boyfriend of Sonnier’s girlfriend, is accused of paying Shepard three silver bars, each worth $3,000, to kill the physician.

Sonnier, the 57-year-old chief pathologist for Covenant Health System, was found shot and stabbed July 11 in his Lubbock house.

Dixon orchestrated the murder-for-hire plot after being dumped by a woman who became Sonnier’s girlfriend, prosecutors said. Dixon continued pursuing her even after she’d begun her romance with Sonnier, the girlfriend told police.